Friday, June 20, 2008

TO BUSY FOR KRISHNA



I have found my self thinking I'm to busy to serve krishna "I mean I chant my 16 rounds every day, and the days I don't, I make up for them the very next day". I read prabupada books regularly wether its ten minutes or two hrs there's always some time in the day to read a little.

The services I'm taking about is getting out there and spreading Krishna names, pastimes and glories to the rest of the world. I have been an aspiring devotee I would say honestly for about two years. Even though i have had devotees association for three years. When I first came and heard about the knowledge of the Bhagavatam it hit me hard, very hard "This is what I've been looking for" wow I was set on dedicating every spare moment I had to help propagate vedic knowledge to every one. And I did! I spent every spare second working to help Atma yoga and the dedicated devotees achieve the goal inspired by HH Devamrita swami in getting as many people to meet with devotees and hopefully take to devotional life themselves. One year into this by the arrangement of provenience my wife and I move into an Asrama to be closer to Atma, to learn and grow more in devotional life and to help the Brisbane temple as the new places was right next to the temple. A year later I'm asking my self what happen? some days it just seems impossible to find time for the services I intended to do in the first places.

What happen???

Did I lose my passion! no I am still very passionate in helping the devotees get srila prabupada massage out there and help build a strong community centered around Krishna. So I get very frustrated and restless when I'm unable to meet my own commitments in helping others. And I have heard many philosophy from many other devotees single bramacaries to very experience married couples to only fresh newly weds on how to deal with this situation on finding time for devotional life here are some responses I have heard some very practical and some only a suicidal bomber would adopt:

1. Go hard or go home.
2. Just do what you can prabu.
Cooking, cleaning and maintaining your home and family in a Krishna conciseness environment is Service to God.
3. It's all about time management and origination, have a good plan and stick to it, "BE REGULAR".
4. excuses excuses you always have some excuse not to.
5. Preaching, thats right on your door step you don't have to go out there to preach. You got family and work friends right there to preach to.
6. Pace yourself don't over do it, be in it for the long haul.
7. Its just impossible all I can do is chant my sixteen rounds and maintain my family.
8. I use to do harinam all the time and distribute hundreds of books a day, But you need a little "you know" me time. rethink and revaluate yourself.

I tried the go hard or go home approach but over time my hard turn to soft and I had to go home, for me hard can only last for so long, And plus I'm not the suicide type. And just doing what I can is a copout, its just to easy to do as little as possible.
maintaining your family and home in Krishna conciseness is a very important part in serving God I use to get depressed when I had to do something necessary for the home thinking I could be out distributing books. But with this piece of advice I came to see that these aspects of life are important too, even to devotees! But not to always make it a reason not to.

A good devotee and friend once said to me "You see there is this process that one must follow to reach God, and that process you must change your ways to suit. But instead what we do "because we can not meet to the standards of this process" is we change the process to meet us, instead of trying to change ourselves to meet the process.

Yes at times it is hard to change myself to meet the process of purification, but i must not give up [never] give up on changing my bad habits for better ones. Anything worth attaining in this world takes hard work, and attaining love for Krishna is of no accept-ion to this rule.

So even through its hard to find time for everything lets just try! one day in the week distribute krishna's words to others, one day in a month chant his holy names for others. For this philosophy "do what you can" can only be applied to never stop, if you can't do it every day, just do it one day A week one day a month.

FOR KRISHNA JUST DO IT!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, February 18, 2008

material pangs part 5: The last fight

continuing on from material pangs part 4:

We have all been through these thought processes at some time in our lives, but it is those who have the courage to go deeper into the depths of our deepest fears. Trying to let go of the seemingly solid reality that we so firmly grasp to, to go beyond the surface of things and find a deeper truth.

I looked at this path contemplating it for many years, it is a scary path one that appears very difficult, but I looked back at the world, my friends, my family, my leaders and my teachers and they had nothing but emptiness and false hope to offer. Fleeting happiness, and pain-filled lives. Grabbing the closest comfortable thing that gives them a sense of warmth, love, life and peace. But to no avail as the very nature of that comfort is only temporary, but they try! they try so hard only to find tears and if not tears then a hard, cold-heart! mistaking it as strength or indifference. You know the saying "what ever mate".
Concreting that belief as the all in all they set in a program that will destroy all that they love. Base on selfish ideals they pose they care but just like their lives their caring only can go skin deep, they can't help it! lost to their senses blinded by lust. Then they say follow, come and follow us, with all their gadgets and nice shiny things the temptation is great and overwhelming. But sorry mate I see where your going! like a dog chasing its own tail round and round you go, you fail to see the pointlessness of it all. Banging your heads hard against the walls you cry out in ecstasy, thinking "this is great" not seeing the miseries coming to you by action-al fait. I thought i rebelled against them by taking intoxication not seeing i had become what I hated, so I stop and looked and ask where was I headed.

So there is only one way to go now and that is searching for a deeper truth, to look in the mirror and face my own ugliness, my own monsters. To go deep into the question people don't want to ask, and listening to the answers people don't want to hear! So where do I look? where do I go? Through the martial arts I had found philosophy and philosophy was where I started. All kinds from the east to the west, covering science, religion, art and poetry. And wow! so much knowledge so much information all I had to do was "want" to look. There is no going back now there is nothing to go back to. The question is where am I going?

Saturday, February 2, 2008

The demons within


In this age it is said that the divine and demoniac are contain in one body, and their is a struggle from within. In the past few weeks I can say that this is true although I have seen and been through this fight many times before. This time however being a little "older", with just a little bit of spiritual association and practice I can see my sort falls with the help of others.
I have become overly judgmental and overly critical of other spirit souls, judging their behavior and actions and criticizing their point of view. In the end I have fed that demoniac nature where all this spouts from in the first place, whether devotee's, "devotee's" or non devotee's this attitude towards others is a pit fall on this path back to Godhead.
So I have been pondering where and why do I feel and think this way, asking my self question like "do I really envy others"? "do I really think my self that much better then them"? do I really care for the well fare of these living servants of God? My answer has to equal yes to the first two and no to the last one.

But this last question is what I have been thinking about for a while now "do I really care for these servants of God" ? The greater part say's yes! then why do my actions not fit into into this answer?. Over the past few months I have been getting colder more inconsiderate and more intolerable to others their feeling and where they are at. WHY? when I am on this path of Bhakti Yoga ["loving devotional" service to krishna]. Where is the love for God and all that is his? "in my judgment"? "in my criticizing"?
The very nature of these things does not come from love but envy. It must be envy! envy so deep in my heart that these two factors are the outwards manifestation pointing to the reality inside. This demon from within is only strong because I desired it so and with the same tool "desire" it can be crushed, for if I desire Krishna and nothing but Krishna then automatically my demons will be crushed. Now the question is do I really desire Krishna??? "I would say yes" maybe thats why I'm going through all of this inner fight? is this the process the beginnings of the fight to destroy my illusory coverings. Only time will tell! Honestly I know these are traits I really do not want in my life.

Monday, January 21, 2008

CLIMATE CHANGE HARINAM SPRINGHILL


"HARE KRISHNA" CLIMATE CHANGE HARINAM IN HIGH SPIRIT




THE TROOPS GO MARCHING ALL THE "WAY" WITH THE SOUNDING OF PRALADS CONCH



I THINK VRAJA GREW A LITTLE TALLER?


THERE IS ONLY "ONE WAY" IN KALI YUGA! AND ITS "CHANTING THE MAHA MANTRA" IT IS THE ONLY WAY THE ONLY WAY" EVEN THE SIGN AGREES

GET HIGH AND STAY HIGH FOREVER

Friday, January 11, 2008

MATERIAL PANGS Part 4: what's your dogma ?


Now addressing why some of us cant follow this path, because ultimately we know all of this leads to death.
Some may say you don’t need a point to life. Just live, so I say come and work for me I’ll pay you nothing, you don’t need a point to work just work. When it comes to these things they need a point that’s pretty clear-cut, but to life nahhh nobodies got any answers anyway.

We all know, but those who can’t find any real satisfaction in all the intoxication [keeping in mind the many forms of intoxication]. Provided by our leaders as an easy form of control, which aids you in forgetting all those moments that cause so much pain. Those pains that can help you start to see the reality of life.

Even now as I write this I am feeling very sick my body is devoid of any colure and I don’t have any energy. And these symptoms just came out of the blue, one minute I was find and the next I wasn’t, who would want this? Now all I can think about is when will I start to feel better.
It kind of reminds me of a drug addicted, “Who” after his high starts to come down and feels really bad and can’t wait for his next hit. So he feels “Better” but the question is! Doe’s he feel better or has he temporarily solved his sufferings with a smoke screen? Mmmm Smoke screen that’s an interesting concept for our day-to-day lives, cause-That’s all it is a smoke screen, so you can run away from the big bad issues of life so you don’t have to deal with it.

We’re all just searching for our next high, when’s the next footy match on, can’t wait until the next soap opera, the next shopping splurges, and the next sexual encounter. I just need a little something to get me by you know I’m not addicted I can stop any time I want to, so then what’s the problem stop. Well I don’t want to, I don’t have to.
The side effects are obviously a lot less evident then some one on harder drugs but none-the-less their goals are the same, to forget your daily problems. Lets check out some one else’s problems on a soap opera ahhhhh feeeels sooooo gooooood. Pollution yeh I know it so bad but any way did you see the game last night man it was awesome!

And there’s that other side which try’s to convince you that you need to be tough to drink your not a man if you can’t hold your licker mate. Your not one of us mate if you don’t watch the cricket, but just with a little back bone and just a little intelligence the truth of the matter is mate! Is that you’re the one who can’t deal with reality and that’s why you drink, and that my friend is the real weakness.

Here I speak more so to my own mentality for I was weak and I did go down that path of self-destruction, where do I go who can I trust? I was certainly lost and just like getting lost with out a map it’s usually your own fault. I mean the map’s available all you have to do is spend the money buy one and follow the exact route given on the map.


But some time’s you know that old ego steps in and say’s why waste money buying a map I can find my own way. And then you get lost frustrated and angry now if your honest you’ll blame your self and if your not you’ll blame some one else. When your deluded it’s always someone else’s fault when you are clear minded it always comes back to you and what choices “YOU” made.

THEY HAVE THEIR PHILOSOPHY
As a teen I could see the reality that the leaders of the world [the corporations] abuse, lies and immoral behavior. I could also see how the general populace aid’s them for their own greedy purposes, and ultimately sink’s deep into the core structure of our society. How could I trust anything that they say, how can anyone trust them, any knowledge given is in the end designed to help them fill their pockets. Everything they are telling us through the education system is to help us become their consumer slaves indebt to their financial institution. They have teachings as well to go with their life styles they “tell us we live only once so we need to make the most of it before we die”.

Obtain as much as you can to become truly happy or else you’ll waste your life. They advertise have as much sex as possible but make sure you use our brand of contraceptive pill and our brand of condoms, they advertise buy our car’s and you can have the women of your dreams. Buy, buy, buy, buy and you’ll be happy and if its our brand you’ll also be popular, this is the main stream philosophy of our world to day.

“One chance” get in while you can! and we have all brought into it without really looking into where this type of mentality takes us as a whole. Think about this philosophy it is telling us we only get one chance and your stuck in this body once and that’s it, no wonder why suicide is on the rise no wonder why we take intoxication and no wonder why we abuse each other and other living species. This speculative concept on our reality is in the end doom to fail, and I use the word speculative because it was manufactured by them, with out any real evidence to this reality. But they propagate this as the truth as the be all and end all, the reality as it is, and because they provide these nice little toys the masses never really questions it. And who are these “them”? they are you and me covered by lust, greed and a never ending hunger for more.

So I started to think even though there are others manipulating other living entities abusing them for their own greedy reasons, and yes the leaders are letting us all down. But what choices are you making to improve the situation of your life and the world, and certainly choosing the superficially-trivial-destructive-addictive aspect to life is not helping you or anyone around you.

We are the one’s who accept the reality in which we chose to see
the world we live in. A certain dogma in which we play our lives out
We all have a belief but ask scientifically where did I get that belief
from. did I experiment with a theory and really get the results I was
Looking for or did I just blindly accept some dogmatic reality base
On no real evidence, maybe just sentimentality, or hope, or pier pressure
Is your dogma truly helping?